Blind Fury
by Candy-Vegetto
Summary: Human AU. Pearl is blind, but she can still "see" with her other senses. She always ends up doing what she knows best: fighting. However, one night, she got wounded from a brawl and ends up in this strange woman's apartment. And the rest is up to you.
1. Chapter 1

**Blind Fury**

* * *

Have you ever had that feeling of fear when you don't recognize a place?

You suddenly find yourself lost in a wave of uncertainties. You just _realize_ you got lost. You have no idea where you are, or have no straight plan on going back home independently. You're just shrouded in mystery, frighteningly thinking to yourself that you're alone around this sea of people. You feel vulnerable. You feel lost. You feel alone. All in that moment of realization.

Maybe you were told to be at a place by someone you know, someone you trust, and they never arrive on time. And this place is in crowds. You're just lost. Did they come already? Did I see them on accident and think it's not them? Am I just blind?

Well, for Pearl, she _is_ blind.

Waking up somewhere you don't recgonize would give you a heart attack. But, if you don't have one of your vital senses, and you're left with the other four to figure it out... smell, touch, hearing and taste... you might figure it out in a moment, right before you calm yourself down after realizing you couldn't see. But Pearl has been blind for years, she had trained herself to maximize the uses of her other senses. It took Pearl the instant she knew she was awake that she didn't know where she was.

It freaked her out.

The cushions she was lying on were made of leather. She knew that. Some of it feel aged, scratched off. She could feel the springs in the couch she was lying on. The pressure she was applying and how it silently creaks with every small movement she made. She has never laid on this couch before. She didn't recognize this couch. It didn't feel like anything she felt before. It felt like some cheap, second-hand, old, leather couch someone took in out of pity. It felt like shit.

The smell of liquor didn't help. She didn't drink. Well, not that much, but still. She wouldn't have this strong a smell of liquor in the house. It smelled bad. She fought the urge to throw up. There were hints of other smells in the room. Pearl could smell oranges, blood, and medicine. On second thought, maybe that wasn't really liquor she was smelling. It was alcohol. Mostly used for cleaning wounds. Pearl berated herself for not figuring it out sooner.

"Ugh..."

She understood why she could smell blood. She could smell it because it was hers. And she was hurting, she was badly wounded. All her stitches grazed her skin. Those hurt like a bitch. Those old wounds she had were attacking her. And in comparison, the new wounds were murder. The feeling of dried blood stained her skin, and she could feel that all over. She could also feel some new cloth over her body that she knew wasn't there before. These were new bandages and gauze.

There wasn't much light in the room. She could tell from how her eyes didn't strain much adapting to the light. Hmmm... something's not right.

She could taste copper in her mouth. It was not merciful.

Pearl could sense the person walking over to the room she was in. She could tell it was female. There was a purse, rattling with objects in it. Her footsteps were light, and Pearl almost couldn't discern them. There was the light smell of perfume, and other chemicals. And... the smell of washed off blood? It smelled recent... not Pearl's blood.

The blind woman tensed.

What the hell happened last night?

She was... trying to save... a young kid. She fought against two groups. Successfully defeated group A, but group B definitely beat her up. She fell. Somewhere in a ditch.

Wait. Where was her... mask? She berated herself again, reaching up to touch her frail, but firm face. She could trace bruises over her cheeks and eyes. But she wasn't wearing her mask. She wore a mask so that people wouldn't know she was a woman! So that people would fear her! So that—

Click.

The door knob turned.

Immediately, Pearl flipped over the couch and rushed over to the door. Her movements were stiff but quick. The damage to her body was severe, but not severe enough for her to keep pushing. Once she reached the door, she could hear it was too late.

"Oh, my god..." Pearl heard the woman mutter. "...You're awake."

Pearl snapped her head towards the woman's voice. She felt the woman gasp, the air currents changed when that happened. There was a small stop in the woman's heart beat. It must be intimidating when a blind woman with bruises over her face suddenly snaps at you.

"You're... You're hurt..." the woman said worriedly, her breathing rising. Pearl could hear her heart racing from the unknown. What was Pearl gonna do? To her or the house or anything? This woman didn't know her. The woman continued, "You need to stay still... or... or..."

"You have blood on your hands." Pearl noted, huffing. She knew it wasn't the woman's. The woman carried herself without any hint of physical pain. Minus her back and the stress on her legs from pacing.

The woman stood there in shock. "You're... _blind_."

Pearl grimaced. She didn't like having her disability spelled out for her. And she didn't like the ambiguity of this woman at all. Standing around would get them nowhere. And the pain in her stomach won't stop. She wanted answers.

"What are you?" Pearl asked, narrowing her eyes.

"Wh-What am _I_?" The woman sounded offended. "What are _you_? I-I... you... can't see, yet..."

Pearl rolled her head, trying to figure the woman out. "Are you a doctor? A professional? Are you the one who patched me up?"

Pearl could hear her breathing slow down. The fluttering of her eyes blinking could be felt in the air. Her posture stiffened. The woman was trying to level herself.

"I'm... not a doctor, no." the woman finally admitted.

Pearl listened for her heartbeat. It didn't waver like a lie. It was steady like the truth. That still didn't make any sense to her. Who was this woman?

"I'm... a nurse."

That made sense, Pearl thought. Who else would have proper medical equipment and technique? She was finally content with an honest answer. Pearl gulped down the spit she didn't realize soon enough that engulfed her tongue. This was the woman who fixed her up probably.

"Can... I... get in... my house?" the woman asked cautiously, fearing the blind one would snap.

Pearl had a few pained breaths, her head focused on her. "Y-Yes... Sorry, ma'am."

The blind woman stepped away and let the nurse enter her home. She closed the door and locked it, which Pearl noted because she was waiting.

Pearl let out an audible sigh. What was she doing now? She was supposed to be out beating up bad people, and here she ended up in a nurse's apartment. She didn't even thank her yet for letting her stay, keeping her away from authorities and fixing her up. All she did so far was scare her into thinking she was some blind lunatic.

"Thank you," Pearl finally said above a whisper. "For... everything."

"Oh. Uh. You're welcome. But you better sit down or... you'll damage all my work." the nurse informed, talking about Pearl's bandages and stiches. She was putting down her purse and roaming around her place to grab some medical supplies.

"Yes... I... kinda got that already." Pearl replied as she touched her burning waist. She walked over to the leather couch, and she swore she could feel the nurse's stare fixated on her. The woman seemed surprised Pearl could maneuver around her place. "What?" the blind warrior asked firmly.

After a while, the nurse replied. "You're blind."

"I am, huh?" Pearl sighed as she sat on the couch, her muscles starting to rest. "You want an explanation for it."

"You... walk like you know the place." the woman continued slowly, her cheeks heating up. Pearl could feel that. "Did you... explore?"

"No. I don't delve into things that aren't mine." That was a lie. She does delve into a lot of things that weren't hers. Like fights or battles. Anything violent. She delves into those things. But she doesn't do delving someone's personal and private stuff, she could already sense where everything was.

"Well, uh... I... it's weird... having to take care of a blind woman whose all bloodied and wore a mask and doesn't seem to be blind at all." the nurse informed shakily. She kept cautious around her, seemingly lost. "Well, erm... What's your name?"

Pearl kept silent for a moment.

The nurse frowned. "Is... Is that private, or..." she felt fear choke her a bit, like the next bit of realization would be life-changing for her. "...you don't have a name?"

"I... it's Paula." Pearl lied, inwardly chuckling a bit about the thought of having no name. Those baddies probably think she didn't have a name. She went into silence again, listening to any detail that wasn't out of the ordinary. Heart beat, breathing, the neighbours, anything. The nurse seemed to want small talk, so she decided to give her some. "What's yours?"

* * *

 **A/N: Due to my incessant _Daredevil_ hype, I started this short series.**

 **Yes, and it's Pearl. I like Pearl. I'm sorry Pearl, that you had to be blind. I decided she was going to be human because Gems don't have much weaknesses. And I don't think Gems can be blind? So, it became an AU now. Dang, me and AUs. I can never make anything remotely canon.**

 **I'm sorry guys, I'm gonna have to slow down _Steven Lazuli_ for this. I hit a block on that, and I just kinda had fun with this thing. I still have no idea who the nurse is, so... yeah, you guys could probably help me out.**

 **I'm just gonna write an award-winning summary and this'll be on your screen. Anyways, peace, I'll see you guys later.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Blind Fury**

* * *

Pearl listened to the sirens in the outside world.

She could hear so much noise.

From the radio of the neighbor's to the dog barking two blocks down the street. There were sirens chasing something in the city. She could hone her hearing onto the police radio of one of the cars going by. She heard about a jewel thief that was fifteen blocks away. Nobody was hurt. Nothing she could do.

And the nurse wasn't going to let her off her sight. She kept insisting Pearl needed to stay, when the blind fighter knew something was wrong. She was saving a child, but she had to fight two groups of gang members. She heard the kid scream, but she never saw the child. Well, of course she didn't see the kid, but what she meant was she was never anywhere close for the child to see her. She never interacted with the child. It bugged her. She had fought so hard yet she had little idea of what she was fighting for.

Was the kid safe? She had no idea. She couldn't sense anything about a kid in trouble with a lot of gang members. Pearl needed to be out there, so she could prevent things like this. Or so she told herself everytime she went out to do her thing.

She just loved beating the living hell out of bad people. There was a fire in her soul that never stops. It may be because she had a disability, which was blindness, that made her feel soft for the people who are in need, for the people who get bullied by this city's monsters. She felt she needed to be there, listening, to intervene and stop scenarios. Like rapes, murders, kidnaps... the like of violence.

Pearl had this itch for justice, or its better term "revenge", in this world. And fighting tends to help her with that. She went out every night, to beat people up who've done something bad. It seemed crazy, but Pearl liked this way. It was the only way for her to get her fix. She was blind, nobody would qualify her in a fighting squad.

Pearl traced the stiches over her waist. She seemed to get stabbed earlier— _recently_. And it's pain has been bubbling in her. It was just... _pulsating_ , she would say. She feared her wounds would reopen sometimes, but in _other_ times she wouldn't care if her body got severely wrecked. Her bones would break, her knuckles would have cuts, her face would get bruised, her stomach would be stabbed... and she would keep going. Because that's what she does. She fights.

It's like an instinct. A primal one. A fiery roar in her.

She didn't know this, but she would do anything. She would do everything in her power to keep fighting, for the greater good. Like that child. The kid's father got beaten up—

Dramatically, Pearl's eyes widened. That was it. There was a father, who got beaten up right in front of the child. Pearl came in late, but managed to fight the first gang off. The father was unconscious, not dead, she knew. She chased the van that had the child, and got ambushed by another gang. And then she fell.

She remembered every punch she gave. Every hit she took. She winced as she thought she ducked under a kick. Her busted lips leaked blood. She remembered that. All the way to her crushing ribs. They were horrible. But she was better now. Her ribs felt like they were actually in place. The nurse did a good job on them. They're all properly put now, even the one that felt like it was just too stubborn to move and kept grazing her lung. Oh, that felt good. It felt satisfying.

Pearl heard the helpful nurse walk in front of her, holding a glass of liquid. It didn't smell like alcohol or oranges or anything, so... water.

"I got you some water." the woman said, grabbing Pearl's hands and carefully giving her the glass, scared she might drop it. She was surprised by how firm her hands were, and that Pearl had no problem holding it. "Drink. You've... gotta stay hydrated."

"I guess..." Pearl brought the glass to her lips and took a sip.

"You know, you're _really_..." the woman trailed away. Pearl could feel the nurse's temperature rising a bit, her heart beat quickening.

"Yeah?"

"...Mysterious." the woman concluded, and Pearl could feel her heart flutter. That wasn't what she was planning to say. She was gonna end it with something else. "Uh... You know what? We can just... check on your wounds! Yeah..."

Pearl swirled the glass of water around before placing it on the coffee table in a way that the woman forgot she was blind for a second. "The sooner, the better..."

"Y-Yeah."

Pearl slowly lifted her shirt up over her belly, the torn cotton sticking to some of the blood on her skin. It stung. The recent wound on her side was hard to peel off. The nurse grimaced, checking on Pearl's tainted creamy skin. She wanted to stub her toe for any wound she missed cleaning up.

"I-I'm sorry..." the nurse apologized.

"No, it's me. It's what I do to myself. Mistakes were made." Pearl stated, finally lifting the shirt over her head. Her tussled hair became even more tussled. Pearl had wrapped white gauze over her chest to conceal herself. She wasn't going to go out without covering herself.

The nurse's eyes were fixated on her scarred body. "W-Wow..."

"What?" Pearl asked, miffed by her awe.

"I just... am _shocked_."

"But you cleaned me up. You saw me. Why are you shocked now?"

"I don't... look at the full picture. Wow..." The nurse was speechless. She raised a hand to tap Pearl's arm to feel the definition of muscle, but stopped herself from embarrassment. "There's... You're... _ripped_."

"That's what happens when you wanna go out every night fighting criminals. You train a lot first." Pearl deadpanned. After a moment, Pearl could feel heat emanating from the nurse. She noticed the moment of silence and chuckled, "Are you checking me out right now?"

The nurse's throat dried. "I didn't... uh..."

"I'm kidding," Pearl informed with a playful tone.

"Oh... I'll get started..." The nurse reached over and grabbed a wet cloth.

"You're so awkward." Pearl remarked. She couldn't help herself but smile.

"And you're so..." the nurse squinted, trying to find the word. "... _calm_."

"You're a good person. Why not?"

The nurse took a moment for that to register. A good person. What does it mean for someone to be a good person? She didn't feel like one. Sure, she was helping a blind fighter from her injuries. But was _Paula_ a good person? She wouldn't know for sure if she was lying. She seemed so relaxed, so honest. Too perfect.

"You... need better armor... than that black shirt." the nurse said, dabbing away the excess blood Pearl had. The blind warrior winced. "You scared me... the condition you were in... You were almost dead... I didn't even know you..."

"I know how to take a beating."

"Yeah, you _do_. To an extent that... I thought _I'd_ be dead, trying to... help a blind person myself, rather than taking you to a hospital, like any normal person would."

"Thank you. For that. I don't really want people to know."

"Yeah, secrets and all that." The nurse sighed, "I probably did a bad job with your stitches. I'm sorry."

"Eh." Pearl shrugged, "It'll pass."

After a while, it all turned into silence, and Pearl focused back on listening. To the silence, the people walking on the concrete floor three floors down, the dog barking two blocks away, the man carrying walking like a thug on the second floor.

"Do you have any friends?" the nurse asked curiously, snapping Pearl out of her trance.

Pearl frowned. "A few."

"Do they know?"

She shook her head. "No. And I'd like to keep it that way."

"Okay..."

"But I guess..." Pearl contemplated at the nurse. "...one person knows."

"Me!" the nurse exclaimed quietly, saying it like a fact instead of a question. She chuckled at her own joke, continuing her work.

"Yeah... Are we friends now?"

The nurse shrugged. "I've already started judging your lifestyle."

"And I do need someone to patch me up..." Pearl listened to a familiar walk of someone outside. "Hey, where's my mask?"

"You mean that torn black sack you wear? It's broken. It's on that cupboard."

"Well, I'm blind, so..."

"Yup."

Pearl could hear the man going door to door, asking for something this late at night. He smelled of cigars and alcohol, but had cologne sprinkled in to mask it. The man walked around like he was a superior, or a cop of some sorts, but his heart beat wavered like he was slipping small white lies everywhere. It always happened when he spoke about being a cop, looking for a man in black. Pearl was that "man in black". Someone was looking for her, targeting her specifically.

"Gang member, going to everyone's door in this building, will be reaching here..." Pearl informed.

"You're gonna... go and... beat him up?" the nurse asked uncertainly.

"He says he's a cop, but I know better, so... yeah." Pearl wore her torn black shirt, wincing at the small wounds and stitches.

The nurse stared at Pearl bewilderedly. "You can hear that?"

"How did you think I ended up here?" Pearl said as she walked over to the cupboard and grabbed the mask.

"You're hurt, you can't go out and start _fighting_ again." she said.

Pearl wore it, concealing her face. "You underestimate me."

"You need to rest. Nurse's orders. I can handle... talking. Alright?" the woman said, walking over to the door. "Just stand away from the door and I can do this."

Pearl took a step back, sighing.

After a while of waiting, Pearl could hear the man in front of the door.

Loud knocking.

"BCPD!"

The nurse approached the door, but Pearl took her hand, halting her.

"Wh-What?" the nurse whispered.

"Wait." Pearl replied. A moment passed, and she released her grip. "Okay. _Now_."

The nurse opened the unlocked and opened her door.

Pearl stood in the shadows, listening intently to their conversation. She had to admit, the nurse stayed calm and sold her story. It was just... artificial. Too good to be true. Once the nurse said her goodbyes and closed the door, Pearl took a moment to listen through for the man, before storming over to the door.

"Let me out."

"What? I thought I did a pretty good job."

"He didn't buy it." Pearl stated, shaking her head. "He's not going to anymore doors."

"But that's a real police badge—"

Pearl opened the door, much to the nurse's chagrin, and followed the man to the staircase. She was quiet, light on her feet, ready to strike. The man looked around as he approached the staircase, when suddenly, his head slammed onto the railings. Pearl crouched over him, raising a fist. She struck him in the head, trying to get him unconscious.

"Paula!"

Pearl let out a final hit, and the man dropped. The blind warrior breathed out heavily, looking back at the distraught nurse. The shock on her face from such brutality. Such rage inflicted on others. Pearl lolled her head around, before standing up, and holding the man up by the collar.

"What are you doing?!" the nurse scuffled over to her.

"Going to the roof." Pearl replied without missing a beat.

"You're gonna... You're gonna throw him out? Over the roof?"

"I might."

"Don't you think it's excessive?"

"I did things. Probably annoyed their boss. And now they're trying to repel the pest. They're trying to locate me. They used a _child_ to lure me out. A kid, who watched his father get beaten up. I need to find out about them. I need to do something about this. This man holds information. It's a chance for me to save that kid. So, yeah, it might be _excessive_."

The nurse looked down, sweat rolling over her cheek. _Why didn't you tell me it was that important? I thought you were just someone trying to be a hero, then that display of ferocity, and then... What is good anymore?_

Pearl lugged the man up the stairs, to the roof, intending to find answers.


End file.
